Wild Arbor Buds

My local Tea Shop has a variety of tea that they call "Wild Arbor Buds". They classify them as a white tea, and also as a pu erh.

http://shopmandalatea.com/white-tea/wild-arbor-buds.html

I have gone through several ounces of this tea, and it is one of my favorites. My question for the forum is if this is a tea worth pursuing, and what are it's health benefits.

What first brought me to it is that it was a "white" tea. Thus I was assuming that it would have a high concentration of antioxidants. But then being as though it is also a "pu erh" tea, then what exacly does this tea have going for it?

I think it is a pretty tasty tea, with hints of pine and astringiency. But am wondering if this is one to keep ordering, or if there is another tea that is better.

My preferred method for white teas is a tea thermos, and I use one of these most of the time. http://shopmandalatea.com/tea-wares/tea-pots-tea-brewers/double-walled-tea-thermos.html

I have enjoyed similar-looking tea very much. The version I've gotten is from Norbu, and this is a quote from his description of the tea that I think clarifies the situation somewhat:

"Ya Bao literally means "Bud Treasure." This white style tea is composed entirely of hand picked tender young buds from a wild growing/undomesticated Camellia varietal specific to the Yunnan/Myanmar border region. Sometimes referred to as "Ye Sheng" or "wild" tea by indigenous populations, this is not a Camellia varietal traditionally used in the manufacture of Pu Erh tea; however, Xiaguan tea factory regularly produces compressed teas incorporating both leaf and bud materials from this varietal."

It is not a standard C. sinensis, but I find these buds make a lovely floral fruity infusion, and at his prices, they're worth the occasional indulgence, even if they can only yield a couple of infusions. I've certainly had no stomach problems from them.

These little white buds come from the same plant varietal of camellia tea tree that the 2005 Xiaguan Wild Ancient tea cake comes from. It is a varietal of camellia that grows in Lincang, Baoshan and Dehong area of western Yunnan. The buds are picked in late-march and then sun-dried. The flavor is fresh and a little fruity somewhat similiar to a good white tea but more complex flavors. The brewed liquor is whitish and clear, and there is a hint of fresh pine needles in the aroma!

From Norbu:

Ya Bao literally means "Bud Treasure." This white style tea is composed entirely of hand picked tender young buds from a wild growing/undomesticated Camellia varietal specific to the Yunnan/Myanmar border region. Sometimes referred to as "Ye Sheng" or "wild" tea by indigenous populations, this is not a Camellia varietal traditionally used in the manufacture of Pu Erh tea; however, Xiaguan tea factory regularly produces compressed teas incorporating both leaf and bud materials from this varietal.

These should answer your question. As for antioxidants, who knows/cares.

debunix wrote:...from a wild growing/undomesticated Camellia varietal specific to the Yunnan/Myanmar border region. Sometimes referred to as "Ye Sheng" or "wild" tea by indigenous populations, this is not a Camellia varietal traditionally used in the manufacture of Pu Erh tea; ...

It is not a standard C. sinensis...

I think this is something very important about ya bao. I don't know if anybody has run (genetic?) test on the ya bao products - probably not - but I don't believe most, if any, ya bao products in the market are from C. sinensis, although some of them might be from Camellia family.

I don't find much similarity between ya bao and puerh, nor white tea, except that it's usually from puerh producing region.

There are anecdotal stories that some ya bao perfectly enjoyed by local people could get some other people into "drunk"/dizzy/nausea syndromes. But I guess most of those selected for the "outside" market are the mild and friendly ones, otherwise it would have been detected by dealer/wholesaler/seller before letting down a consumer.

On the other hand, ya bao is reported to be rich of anthocyanin which has potential healthy/beauty effects

Wow, this is turning into a great discussion. Thank you for the replies

Ya bao has some interesting google hits, and a small following. People seem to either love it or hate it.

It is sold as both "white tea" and "pu erh", but it is neither, it is Ya bao. Looks as though it cam be aged, but peaks at the 2-3 year mark.

As for health benefits, I can't really find any information, hopefully somebody can chime in with some info.

If it does in fact contain anthocyanin, then it is interesting for sure. But the article I found seems to suggest that anthocyanin is found mostly in dark pigmented fruits and vegetables and does not mention any kind of tea. I wonder is Ya Bao is really a significant producer of anthocyanin, because that would be great.